Prompt: Fairy Tale
by revolu-XUN
Summary: Demyx has the sudden urge to read a book and forces Zexion to come along and read to him. What does he choose? A book of fairy tales, of course. A short story of Demyx's runaway imagination. Fluff and mild BL. Happy Zexion is happy


It had been a long day doing reconnaissance work at Beast's Castle for Zexion and Demyx.

"Well, from what _I_ gathered, this castle is full of dust, spider webs, and books. Lots and lots of books…" Demyx concluded after they had examined the library, ready to return to the castle already. His feet were killing him.  
"And deep gashes in the walls and slashed tapestries and broken objects…honestly Demyx, were you paying attention to _anything?_" Zexion said with a sigh, pressing his fingers to his forehead.  
"Oh yeah! There were a bunch of creepy statues, too. Man, I'd hate for those things to show up in my nightmares."  
"I suppose it's a good thing Saix sent me along with you, otherwise you would be in trouble for being so inconceivably blind." the younger man said, shaking his head in disbelief.  
"Hey, two heads are better than one, right~?" Demyx said with an innocent grin.  
"…Let's RTC. _I'll_ report what we found."  
"I think that's the best idea you've had all day." the cheerful blond said, opening a dark corridor back to the castle, clasping Zexion's hand in his and dragging him along, much to the dismay and embarrassment of the younger boy.

"Zexy~?" Demyx chimed as the two walked down the large, empty hallway having finished reporting the results of their mission to Saix.  
"Demyx."  
" I was just thinking…"  
_"Oh no."_ Demyx? Thinking? This couldn't be good, Zexion thought.  
The blond pouted. "_Well,_ I was thinking maybe we could drop by the library before turning in for the night."  
"Alright, who are you and what have you done with Demyx?" the silver-haired boy said with a chuckle.  
"It's been a long time since I read a book, okay? And being in that library…I dunno…it inspired me, I guess."  
"You? _Read?_" Zexion couldn't suppress his laughter.  
"Hey!" the blond protested, shoving him playfully. "Well…actually. I wasn't planning on reading. That's why I wanted you to come along. Heh heh…"  
The younger boy raised an eyebrow.  
"Come on, please? Read to me! You can't refuse~! You love books, and you love me. It works perfectly!" He blinked down at the shorter boy expectantly.  
Zexion sighed and rolled his eyes. _"You're lucky you're cute."_ he said, walking off toward the direction of the library.  
Humming happily, Demyx snuck his hand by Zexion's once more and interlocked their fingers. The younger boy pretended not to notice.

"What's with big castles and dusty old libraries, anyway?" Demyx asked as they entered the room. It had definitely been neglected, and was in desperate need of some tender loving care.  
"Do _you_ want to clean it?"  
"Er…no. Not really." He replied, gazing about the expansive room at the maze of bookshelves containing countless volumes. No one in their right mind would even think of cleaning such a room, Demyx thought.  
"Exactly. Well…pick a book." Zexion said, his eyes searching the shelves, hoping to find something of interest that he could read later on.

After exploring the library for a while, and getting lost a few times, Demyx finally found something that caught his eye.  
"Zexy! I've got it~" He returned with quite a large book in his arms, handing it to his friend triumphantly.  
"Oh good, you found your way back. Let's see what we have here…" Zexion grimaced as he reluctantly wiped the layer of dust off the cover of the book.  
"…fairy tales."  
"Uh. Yeah?"  
"Fairy tales. Really?"  
"Yes! Dude, I haven't read fairy tales in like, forever! Please? Pretty please?" Demyx pouted.  
Zexion shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. He sat on the floor, and the older boy followed, crossing his legs and grinning happily.

"Hm…where to start?" Zexion flipped through the pages until he stopped on a particular story. "Ah. Here's a good one." He coughed a little to clear his throat before beginning.  
_"Once upon a time—"_

Something about the atmosphere in the room changed, Demyx thought. He looked around and realized that not only the atmosphere had been altered, but the library itself was changing. Soft, springy grass sprouted up beneath the two boys. An army of ivy vines climbed up the bookshelves and clung to them, spreading themselves all over, turning the shelves into large leafy hedges. The already high ceiling seemed to stretch further. Way back in the farthest corner of the room, the spiral staircase that led to the second floor of the library collapsed. From the rubble sprang up a large, looming mountain. Atop the new rock formation appeared a dark and forbidden-looking tower…

The sound of galloping hooves beat in Demyx's ears. Closer and closer it grew, until suddenly, in the aisle beside the sitting boys, he caught a glimpse of the source of the sound. A valiant prince raced past them upon his noble steed, a brilliantly white horse with a long, flowing mane. They charged onward to the mountain, the prince with his sword in hand, ready to face the monstrous dragon that guarded the tower, hoping to save the fair maiden trapped within…

An epic battle ensued, and of course, the prince was victorious. The dragon unleashed a terrible cry before tumbling down the mountain. It was slain, and the maiden was free at last.

There was a very out of place thud. Almost like the sound of a heavy book being placed on the floor.

"Demyx? Hello? Can you hear me?" A voice called.  
The tower disintegrated and the mountain crumbled, revealing the staircase to be there just as it had been before. The raised ceiling came back down to it's usual height. The vines tangled around the bookcases receded and slipped back into the ground, along with the grass.  
"Demyx. Are you even paying attention?" a slightly irritated Zexion asked.  
The blonds' attention snapped back to his friend finally. "_Huh?_ Sorry, um…I guess my imagination got kind of carried away. Where were you?" he said with an embarrassed laugh, scratching the back of his head.  
"**The beginning.**"  
"Oh. Right."  
Zexion smiled and ruffled Demyx's hair. "You're hopeless."  
"You love me~"  
"I do."  
"Wanna try this again?"  
"Let's. Now, _Once upon a time…_"  
Demyx sidled himself closer to Zexion and peered into the book, following along silently as his friend read aloud.

"Wow, that was nice! You know what? We should do this more often…like, every night!" the blond declared happily once the story was over.  
"_Every_ night?" the silver-headed boy asked with a frown.  
"Why not?"  
"Demyx, you do realize that if we continue this night after night, after we come home tired from missions, reading until the late hours of the evening, we'll never have the time or energy to have s—"

"Six. Nine." Xemnas appeared in the doorway of the library, and Zexion nearly choked on his last, unfinished word.  
"Superior." He said, turning to face the man, his face flushed.  
"There is an important meeting early tomorrow morning. Do not be late."  
"We won't, sir!" Demyx said. With a nod, Xemnas left as quickly as he had arrived.

"What was that you were going to say before good ol' Mansex interrupted you so rudely?" Demyx teased.  
"Oh, _you know_ what I was going to say."  
"Well…alright. Maybe _every_ night is a little too much." He said with a wink.  
Chuckling, Zexion shook his head. "Well, we'll figure it out later. It's time to sleep."  
"Okay~ …hey Zexy? Since I got a bedtime story, can I get a bedtime kiss too~?"  
With a sigh, Zexion stood on his toes and pressed his lips lightly to Demyx's forehead. "Now, don't forget the meeting tomorrow."  
"Crap, I had already forgotten about it." Demyx frowned. "I promised I'd be there on time, huh?"  
"Indeed, you did."  
"Aw man."  
Zexion laughed a little. "Good night, Demyx."  
"'Night, Zexion~"  
The two headed to their own rooms to turn in for the night.

Although he wasn't very good on missions, Demyx had at least taught Zexion something that day.  
_You're never too old for fairy tales and bedtime stories._


End file.
